Wednesday, 21 May 2014

When Presseurop ceased publication we announced that we would not say goodbye, but rather “until we meet again”.

On no account could we simply drop a platform for European news and discussion that was playing a critical role in the emergence of a European public space. And the idea of abandoning the community that had coalesced around Presseurop was unthinkable.

With a new name which is more in tune with the goal of creating a truly European service to reflect all of the voices in Europe — not only voices from the press, but also those from social networks and individual citizens — VoxEurop will feature content in ten languages on the same principle as Presseurop. In so doing, it aims to make an even greater contribution to the emergence of a European public opinion, which is an indispensable condition for real democratic debate at the level of the continent.

Staffed by former Presseurop journalists, translators and developers, VoxEurop is run by a non-profit organisation that was formed to carry the torch when it became clear that the press titles which managedPresseurop were unwilling to continue publication of the news website following the withdrawal of funding from the European Commission on 22 December 2013.

Thanks to the devotion of a group of volunteers, the first step of ensuring that the articles already published by Presseurop would remain online, which was by no means guaranteed, has now been enshrined in an agreement with the former operators of Presseurop.

So we will now suspend updating this blog and we invite you to meet us on VoxEurop. See you there!

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

To some leading Russian politicians, Conchita Wurst, the Austrian drag queen who won the latest Eurovision song contest, is the symbol of the "decadence" of Western Europe, from which they want to defend the Russian-speaking countries.

''Russian-speaking in Latvia turn their back on Russia' - Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm.

'Donbass stayed at home' - Den, Kiev.

Most of voters in Eastern Ukraine did not take part in the "so-called referendum" on the independence of the region, writes the Ukrainian daily.

'Westerners overtaken by Putin's new art of war' - Le Monde, Paris.

"Russia will keep military pressure on the Europe's Eastern borders, even if the Ukrainian crisis ends up rapidly", writesLe Monde, according to whom the Russian president's strategy consists in "winning without fighting".

Thursday, 8 May 2014

Russian president Vladimir Putin and the OSCE chair (and Swiss president) Didier Burkhalter called for a national dialogue with all the parties to the Ukraine conflict after a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, on Wednesday, reports the Swiss daily.

'Putin turns his back on separatists' - De Volkskrant, Amsterdam.

Russian president Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of Moscow's soldiers posted along Eastern Ukraine's borders and called for the referendum on independence scheduled by pro-Russian separatists for 11 May to be postponed, reportsDe Volkskrant. The daily adds that "NATO does not see any sign that this is happening".

'Brussels tightens more' - El Periódico, Barcelona.

In its first report since de end of the banking rescue package, the European Commission and the European central bank "criticised on Wednesday the delay by Spanish government on some reforms, such as active employment policies and the jobs service modernisation, as well as the liberalisation of professional services or the implementation of the Independent Fiscal Authority", writes the Spanish daily.

'Europe mobilises against djihadist networks' - Le Figaro, Paris.

The Interior ministers of "the nine European countries most affected by 'foreign fighters'" who leave their homeland to fight along Syrian radical rebels meet today in Brussels, with "representatives of the U.S., Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia. "More than 15,000 foreigners from 70 countries are currently fighting in Syria, most of whom on the side of radical islamists", reportsLe Figaro.

'17 days more' - Die Tageszeitung, Berlin.

"Will the far-right extremists win on 25 May? Should we remember the reasons of the new Europe-Ukraine crisis? Can and should we love the EU?" Starting today, two weeks ahead of the European elections, TAZ "brings special pages" to the issue.

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Unemployment fell by 111,565 people in April (it is now 4,684,301), writes ABC. A figure that "could trigger to a real change in the employment trend". Employment rose by 133,765 in "the best April in the Welfare history. Most of the jobs (64,774) were created in the hostelry sector, as well as the self-employed (21,946).

During yesterday's talks in Vienna on the situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov insisted that no further discussion can be engaged without the involvement of the pro-Russian separatists' representatives (which he called "opposition"). Lavrov also "asked for the 25 May presidential elections to be postponed until there is a new constitution", reports the daily. His Ukrainian counterpart, Andrij Deschtchyza, replied asking Russia "not to interfere in the process".

"Right-wing populist and far-right parties are poised to reap their biggest success since World War II in this year's European elections, though only in a few countries", writes the Swedish daily. Eastern Europe seems to be spared, as a survey by Svenska Dagbladet and the anti-racist Expo foundation reveals.

'Why are saboteurs penetrating in Ukraine?' - Den, Kiev.

According to the Ukrainian daily, "Russian saboteurs and mercenaries are openly fighting on the Ukrainian territory", while "Ukrainian special forces are suffering huge casualties." How is it possible that Russian soldiers could have been deployed "to destabilise the situation and occupying more and more land in the East and the South?", asksDen to the assistant Head of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Sergey Astakhov. Who says that "there was no political decision to prevent Russian nationals to enter Ukraine".

'Immigration: Europe facing the tragedy' - Le Monde, Paris.

"An influx of migrants in Italy and in Spain and two new boats capsized in the Aegean Sea show the EU's difficulty to set up a common policy", writesLe Monde. Despite "the numerous tools the EU has got, it has failed to stop immigration": 435,000 asylum applications were filed in 2013, and those tools "are harshly criticised by human rights organisations".